Showing papers on "Developing country published in 2007"

NEW DEBATE International estimates of infertility prevalence and treatment-seeking: potential need and demand for infertility medical care

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to review existing population surveys on the prevalence of infertilityandproportionofcouplesseekingmedicalhelpforfertilityproblems.METHODS:Populationsurveys,reporting the prevalence of infertility and proportion of couples seeking help in more and less developed countries, were reviewed. RESULTS: Estimates on the prevalence of infertility came from 25 population surveys sampling 172 413 women. The 12-month prevalence rate ranged from 3.5% to 16.7% in more developed nations and from 6.9% to 9.3% in less-developed nations, with an estimated overall median prevalence of 9%. In 17 studies sampling 6410 women, the proportion of couples seeking medial care was, on average, 56.1% (range 42–76.3%) in more developed countries and 51.2% (range 27–74.1%) in less developed countries. The proportion of people actually receiving care was substantially less, 22.4%. Based on these estimates and on the current world population, 72.4 million women are currently infertile; of these, 40.5 million are currently seeking infertility medical care. CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence indicates a 9% prevalence of infertility (of 12 months) with 56% of couples seeking medical care. These estimates are lower than those typically cited and are remarkably similar between more and less developed countries.

The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth

Abstract: This comprehensive overview of the modern Chinese economy by a noted expert on China's economic development offers a quality and breadth of coverage not found in any other English-language text. In The Chinese Economy, Barry Naughton provides both an engaging, broadly focused introduction to China's economy since 1949 and original insights based on his own extensive research. The book will be an essential resource for students, teachers, scholars, business people, and policymakers. It is suitable for classroom use for undergraduate or graduate courses. After presenting background material on the pre-1949 economy and the industrialization, reform, and market transition that have taken place since, the book examines different aspects of the modern Chinese economy. It analyzes patterns of growth and development, including population growth and the one-child family policy; the rural economy, including agriculture and rural industrialization; industrial and technological development in urban areas; international trade and foreign investment; macroeconomic trends and cycles and the financial system; and the largely unaddressed problems of environmental quality and the sustainability of growth. The text is notable also for placing China's economy in interesting comparative contexts, discussing it in relation to other transitional or developing economies and to such advanced industrial countries as the United States and Japan. It provides both a broad historical and macro perspective as well as a focused examination of the actual workings of China's complex and dynamic economic development. Interest in the Chinese economy will only grow as China becomes an increasingly important player on the world's stage. This book will be the standard reference for understanding and teaching about the next economic superpower.

Institutional Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment

Abstract: In this paper, we contribute to the literature on the determinants of foreign direct investment in developing countries and re-evaluate the role of the quality of institutions on FDI independently of the general level of development. We implement cross-section estimations based on a newly available database with unprecedented detail on institutions for a set of 52 countries, as well as panel data estimations based on Fraser Institute's data. Furthermore, we control for the correlation between institutions and GDP per capita and for endogeneity of institutions. Finally, we evaluate whether the similarity of institutions between the host and the origin country raises bilateral FDI. We find that a wide range of institutions, including bureaucracy, corruption, but also information, banking sector and legal institutions, do matter for inward FDI independently of GDP per capita. Interestingly, weak capital concentration and strong employment protection tend to reduce inward FDI. Institutional proximity between the origin and the host country also matters, but we find little impact of institutions in the origin country. These results are encouraging in the sense that efforts towards raising the quality of institutions and making them converge towards those of source countries may help developing countries to receive more FDI, independently of the indirect impact of higher GDP per capita. The orders of magnitude found in the paper are large, meaning that moving from a low level to a high level of institutional quality could have as much impact as suddenly becoming a neighbour of a source country.

Childhood Overweight, Obesity, and the Metabolic Syndrome in Developing Countries

Abstract: The incidence of chronic disease is escalating much more rapidly in developing countries than in industrialized countries. A potential emerging public health issue may be the increasing incidence of childhood obesity in developing countries and the resulting socioeconomic and public health burden faced by these countries in the near future. In a systematic review carried out through an electronic search of the literature from 1950-2007, the author compared data from surveys on the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and the metabolic syndrome among children living in developing countries. The highest prevalence of childhood overweight was found in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, whereas India and Sri Lanka had the lowest prevalence. The few studies conducted in developing countries showed a considerably high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among youth. These findings provide alarming data for health professionals and policy-makers about the extent of these problems in developing countries, many of which are still grappling with malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. Time trends in childhood obesity and its metabolic consequences, defined by uniform criteria, should be monitored in developing countries in order to obtain useful insights for primordial and primary prevention of the upcoming chronic disease epidemic in such communities.

A systematic review of inequalities in the use of maternal health care in developing countries: examining the scale of the problem and the importance of context

Abstract: Two decades after the Safe Motherhood campaign's 1987 launch in India, half a million women continue to die from pregnancy-related causes every year. Key health-care interventions can largely prevent these deaths, but their use is limited in developing countries, and is reported to vary between population groups. We reviewed the use of maternal health-care interventions in developing countries to assess the extent, strength and implications of evidence for variations according to women's place of residence and socioeconomic status. Studies with data on use of a skilled health worker at delivery, antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy and medical settings for delivery were assessed. We identified 30 eligible studies, 12 of which were of high or moderate quality, from 23 countries. Results of these studies showed wide variation in use of maternal health care. Methodological factors (e.g. inaccurate identification of population in need or range of potential confounders controlled for) played a part in this variation. Differences were also caused by factors related to health-care users (e.g. age, education, medical insurance, clinical risk factors) or to supply of health care (e.g. clinic availability, distance to facility), or by an interaction between such factors (e.g. perceived quality of care). Variation was usually framed by contextual issues relating to funding and organization of health care or social and cultural issues. These findings emphasize the need to investigate and assess context-specific causes of varying use of maternal health care, if safe motherhood is to become a reality in developing countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2007;85:812-819.

The Marginal Product of Capital

Abstract: Whether or not the marginal product of capital (MPK) differs across countries is a question that keeps coming up in discussions of comparative economic development and patterns of capital flows. Using easily accessible macroeconomic data we find that MPKs are remarkably similar across countries. Hence, there is no prima facie support for the view that international credit frictions play a major role in preventing capital flows from rich to poor countries. Lower capital ratios in these countries are instead attributable to lower endowments of complementary factors and lower efficiency, as well as to lower prices of output goods relative to capital. We also show that properly accounting for the share of income accruing to reproducible capital is critical to reach these conclusions. One implication of our findings is that increased aid flows to developing countries will not significantly increase these countries’ capital stocks and incomes. I. INTRODUCTION Is the world’s capital stock efficiently allocated across countries? If so, then all countries have roughly the same aggregate marginal product of capital (MPK). If not, the MPK will vary substantially from country to country. In the latter case, the world foregoes an opportunity to increase global GDP by reallocating capital from low to high MPK countries. The policy implications are far reaching. Given the enormous cross-country differences in observed capital-labor ratios (they vary by a factor of 100 in the data used in this paper) it may seem obvious that the MPK must vary dramatically as well. In this case we would have to conclude that there are important frictions in international capital markets that prevent an efficient cross-country allocation of capital. 1 However, as Lucas [1990] pointed out in his celebrated article, poor countries also have lower endowments of factors complementary with physical capital, such as human capital, and lower total

Are Remittances Insurance? Evidence from Rainfall Shocks in the Philippines

Abstract: Several facts motivate this study. First, life in developing countries is prone to many kinds of risk, such as crop and income loss due to natural disasters (weather, insect infestations, and fire) and civil conflict. Second, international migration and remittance flows are substantial and growing. Between 1965 and 2000, individuals living outside their country of birth grew from 2.2 to 2.9 percent of the world population, totaling 175 million people in 2000. The remittances that these migrants send to their countries of origin are an important but poorly understood type of international financial flow. This article examines a mechanism for coping with shocks ex post on which previous micro-level studies have not focused: remittances from family members overseas. At the international level, it is commonly posited that remittance flows from overseas buffer economic shocks in migrants' home countries, but there have been relatively few empirical tests of this claim with micro-level household data. Related research on the role of domestic migration in pooling risk within extended families includes Lucas and Stark (1985), Rosenzweig and Stark (1989), and Paulson (2000).

Shadow Economies and Corruption All Over the World: New Estimates for 145 Countries

Abstract: Estimations of the shadow economies for 145 countries, including developing, transition and highly developed OECD economies over 1999 to 2005 are presented. The average size of the shadow economy (as a percent of "official" GDP) in 2004/05 in 96 developing countries is 36.7%, in 25 transition countries 38.8% and in 21 OECD countries 14.8%. An increased burden of taxation and social security contributions, combined with a labour market regulation are the driving forces of the shadow economy. Furthermore, the results show that the shadow economy reduces corruption in high income countries, but increases corruption in low income countries. Finally, the various estimation methods are discussed and critically evaluated.

Immigrant Transnational Organizations and Development: A Comparative Study

Abstract: This article explores how ninety Colombian, Dominican, and Mexican transnational immigrant organizations pursue philanthropic projects that aid in the development of their country or community of origin. We find that each nationality's context of exit and reception affects the origin, strength, and character of their organizations. We produce “maps” of the interaction of transnational organizations with each country of origin and conduct multivariate regressions to establish determinants of key organizational characteristics, including their degree of formalization and form of creation. Generally, Colombian organizations assume more middle-class forms, Dominican organizations stem largely from politics in the country of origin, and Mexican organizations are primarily hometown associations with greater involvement of the national state. We observe that regardless of nationality, transnational immigrant organizations’ members are older, better-established, and possess above-average levels of education, suggesting that participation in transnational activities and assimilation are not incompatible. The character of proactive activities by each national state are examined. Theoretical implications for immigrant adaptation and community/national development are discussed.

Tourism and Development in the Developing World

Abstract: Tourism is widely considered to be an important factor in socio-economic development, particularly in less developed countries. However, despite almost universal recognition of tourism’s development potential, the extent to which economic and social progress is linked to the growth of a country’s tourism sector remains the subject of intense debate. Tourism and Development in the Developing World offers a thorough overview of the tourism-development relationship. Focusing specifically on the less developed world and drawing on contemporary case studies, this updated second edition questions widely-held assumptions on the role of tourism in development and seeks to highlight the challenges faced by destinations seeking to achieve development through tourism. The introductory chapter establishes the foundation for the book, exploring the meaning and objectives of development, reviewing theoretical perspectives on the developmental process, and assessing the reasons why less developed countries are attracted to tourism as a development option. The concept of sustainable development, as the most widely adopted contemporary model of development, is then introduced and its links with tourism critically assessed. Subsequent chapters explore the key issues associated with tourism and development, including the rise of globalization; the tourism planning and development process; the relationship between tourism and communities within which it is developed; the management implications of trends in the demand for and uptake of tourism; and an analysis of the consequences of tourism development for destination environments, economies and societies. A new chapter considers the challenges of climate change, sustainability of resource supply (oil, water and food), global economic instability, political instability and changing demographics. Finally, the issues raised throughout the book are drawn together in a concluding chapter that assesses the tourism and development ‘dilemma’. Combining an overview of essential concepts, theories and knowledge with an analysis of contemporary issues and debates in tourism and development, this new edition will be an invaluable resource for those investigating tourism issues in developing countries. The book will be of interest to students of tourism, development, geography and area studies, international relations and politics, and sociology.

Global cost-benefit analysis of water supply and sanitation interventions

Abstract: The aim of this study was to estimate the economic benefits and costs of a range of interventions to improve access to water supply and sanitation facilities in the developing world. Results are presented for eleven developing country WHO sub-regions as well as at the global level, in United States Dollars (US$) for the year 2000. Five different types of water supply and sanitation improvement were modelled: achieving the water millennium development goal of reducing by half in 2015 those without improved water supply in the year 1990; achieving the combined water supply and sanitation MDG; universal basic access to water supply and sanitation; universal basic access plus water purification at the point-of-use; and regulated piped water supply and sewer connection. Predicted reductions in the incidence of diarrhoeal disease were calculated based on the expected population receiving these interventions. The costs of the interventions included estimations of the full investment and annual running costs. The benefits of the interventions included time savings due to easier access, gain in productive time and reduced health care costs saved due to less illness, and prevented deaths. The results show that all water and sanitation improvements are cost-beneficial in all developing world sub-regions. In developing regions, the return on a US$1 investment was in the range US$5 to US$46, depending on the intervention. For the least developed regions, investing every US$1 to meet the combined water supply and sanitation MDG lead to a return of at least US$5 (AFR-D, AFR-E, SEAR-D) or US$12 (AMR-B; EMR-B; WPR-B). The main contributor to economic benefits was time savings associated with better access to water and sanitation services, contributing at least 80% to overall economic benefits. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that even under pessimistic data assumptions the potential economic benefits outweighed the costs in all developing world regions. Further country case-studies are recommended as a follow up to this global analysis.

The impact of remittances on poverty and human capital: evidence from Latin American household surveys.

Abstract: This paper explores the impact of remittances on poverty, education, and health in 11 Latin American countries using nationally representative household surveys and making an explicit attempt to account for one of the inherent costs associated with migration-the potential income that the migrant may have made at home. The main findings of the study are the following: (1) regardless of the counterfactual used remittances appear to lower poverty levels in most recipient countries; (2) yet despite this general tendency, the estimated impacts tend to be modest; and (3) there is significant country heterogeneity in the poverty reduction impact of remittances' flows. Among the aspects that have been identified in the paper that may lead to varying outcomes across countries are the percentage of households reporting remittances income, the share of remittances of recipient households belonging to the lowest quintiles of the income distribution, and the relative importance of remittances flows with respect to GDP. While remittances tend to have positive effects on education and health, this impact is often restricted to specific groups of the population.

Measuring disability prevalence

Abstract: This paper reviews what is meant by disability and puts forth a way of measuring disability suitable for internationally comparable prevalence rates. The basic trend in this regard is to measure functional limitations, rather than disability, and then use different severity thresholds for defining disability based on the purpose of measurement. After explaining this approach, the paper then goes on to summarize recent studies that use this methodology. Overall, as generally defined, disabled people represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Data from developed countries and some recent studies in developing countries over several regions (namely, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Zambia) suggest that an estimate of 10-12 percent is not unreasonable. This estimate is in line with the United Nations' often cited figure of 10 percent, which in fact was an informed guess based on data available from developed countries. This paper will argue, however, that a single disability prevalence rate can be highly problematic. Better practice would be to report at least two prevalence rates, one representing a moderate threshold for functional limitations and one with a more severe threshold.

Chapter 56 The Impact of Child Health and Nutrition on Education in Less Developed Countries

Abstract: Hundreds of millions of children in less developed countries suffer from poor health and nutrition. Children in most less developed countries also complete far fewer years of schooling, and learn less per year of schooling, than do children in developed countries. Recent research has shown that poor health and nutrition among children reduces their time in school and their learning during that time. This implies that programs or policies that increase children's health status could also improve their education outcomes. Given the importance of education for economic development, this link could be a key mechanism to improve the quality of life in less developed countries. Many researchers have attempted to estimate the impact of child health on education outcomes, but there are formidable obstacles to obtaining credible estimates. Data are often scarce, although much less scarce than in previous decades. Even more importantly, there are many possible sources of bias when attempting to estimate relationships between child health and education. This Chapter provides an overview of what has been learned thus far. Although significant progress has been made, much more research is still needed – especially in estimating the long term impact of child health status on living standards. The chapter first reviews some basic facts about child health and education in less developed countries. It then provides a framework for analyzing the impact of health and nutrition on education, describes estimation problems and potential solutions, and summarizes recent empirical evidence, including both non-experimental and experimental studies. It concludes with suggestions for future research directions.

Generating Political Priority for Maternal Mortality Reduction in 5 Developing Countries

Abstract: I conducted case studies on the level of political priority given to maternal mortality reduction in 5 countries: Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Among the factors that shaped political priority were international agency efforts to establish a global norm about the unacceptability of maternal death; those agencies' provision of financial and technical resources; the degree of cohesion among national safe motherhood policy communities; the presence of national political champions to promote the cause; the deployment of credible evidence to show policymakers a problem existed; the generation of clear policy alternatives to demonstrate the problem was surmountable; and the organization of attention-generating events to create national visibility for the issue. The experiences of these 5 countries offer guidance on how political priority can be generated for other health causes in developing countries.

Government health expenditures and health outcomes.

Abstract: This paper provides econometric evidence linking a country's per capita government health expenditures and per capita income to two health outcomes: under-five mortality and maternal mortality. Using instrumental variables techniques (GMM-H2SL), we estimate the elasticity of these outcomes with respect to government health expenditures and income while treating both variables as endogenous. Consequently, our elasticity estimates are larger in magnitude than those reported in literature, which may be biased up. The elasticity of under-five mortality with respect to government expenditures ranges from -0.25 to -0.42 with a mean value of -0.33. For maternal mortality the elasticity ranges from -0.42 to -0.52 with a mean value of -0.50. For developing countries, our results imply that while economic growth is certainly an important contributor to health outcomes, government spending on health is just as important a factor.

International portfolio diversification benefits: Cross-country evidence from a local perspective

Abstract: We investigate how the benefits of international portfolio diversification differ across countries from the perspective of a local investor. We find that the benefits of investing abroad are largest for investors in developing countries, including when controlling for currency effects. Most of the benefits are obtained from investing outside the region of the home country. These global diversification benefits remain large when controlling for short-sales constraints in developing stock markets. The gains from international portfolio diversification appear to be largest for countries with high country risk. In addition to this cross-sectional evidence, we also provide evidence that diversification benefits vary over time as country risk changes. We find that diversification benefits have decreased for most countries in our sample over the past two decades.

Patients without Borders: The Emergence of Medical Tourism

Abstract: A growing number of patients from the United States and other developed countries are traveling abroad with the express purpose of obtaining health care, including elective surgery and long-term care. This trend is not innocuous. It can lead developing countries to emphasize technology-intensive tertiary care for foreigners at the expense of basic health care for their citizens. Moreover, it can exacerbate the brain drain from the public to the private sector. The examples of Thailand and India suggest the distorting effects of this trend and raise questions of social equity in the distribution of scarce resources.

Nurse migration from a source country perspective: Philippine country case study

Abstract: Objectives: To describe nurse migration patterns in the Philippines and their benefits and costs. Principal Findings: The Philippines is a job-scarce environment and even for those with jobs in the health care sector poor working conditions often motivate nurses to seek employment overseas. The country has also become dependent on labor migration to ease the tight domestic labor market. National opinion has generally focused on the improved quality of life for individual migrants and their families and on the benefits of remittances to the nation. However a shortage of highly skilled nurses and the massive retraining of physicians to become nurses elsewhere has created severe problems for the Filipino health system including the closure of many hospitals. As a result policymakers are debating the need for new policies to manage migration such that benefits are also returned to the educational institutions and hospitals that are producing the emigrant nurses. Conclusions and Recommendations: There is new interest in the Philippines in identifying ways to mitigate the costs to the health system of nurse emigration. Many of the policy options being debated involve collaboration with those countries recruiting Filipino nurses. Bilateral agreements are essential for managing migration in such a way that both sending and receiving countries derive benefit from the exchange. (authors)

Does aid affect governance

Abstract: Why is there little robust evidence that foreign aid significantly enhances the economic growth of poor countries? The search for an explanation is becoming immensely important as industrial countries are being exhorted to increase their aid budgets in order to help developing countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Perhaps one should not expect an impact on growth from the mere infusion of additional capital into a country. But, perhaps, any beneficial effects are offset by adverse spillover effects, and academic focus should shift to determining what these are and how to mitigate them. In this regard, Figure is suggestive. We plot the log of the manufacturing to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in a country against the log of the ratio of aid received to GDP for that country for two separate time periods (the late 990s and the early 980s), conditional on a number of variables. As the figure suggests, the more aid a country has received, the smaller its share of manufacturing. The coefficient estimate suggests that a percentage point increase in the ratio of aid to GDP is associated with a reduced share of manufacturing in total GDP of about 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points.